Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review

“Given that attractive individuals have higher confidence (Langlois et al., 2000), we hypothesized that”

“Agreement about which faces are attractive not only occurs between men and women, but also between people from different cultures (e.g., Langlois et al. 2000).”

“Indeed, it is widely documented that more weight is placed on the welfare of attractive people: They are paid more (19), are more likely to be hired for managerial positions (20), are more likely to be elected to public office (21), are given lighter sentences (22, 23), and are viewed more favorably (24).”

“…and there is abundant research about the effects of facial appearance on social outcomes (e.g., Blair, Judd, & Chapleau, 2004; Eberhardt, Davies, Purdie-Vaughns, & Johnson, 2006; Hamermesh & Biddle, 1994; Hassin & Trope, 2000; Langlois et al., 2000; Montepare & Zebrowitz, 1998; Zebrowitz, 1999).”

“…et al.'s (2000) metaanalyses revealed that although differences in evaluation were stronger for children than adults, when compared ''with other effect sizes in the social sciences,'' the effect sizes obtained by Langlois et al. (2000) were still ''uncommonly large'' for both groups (p. 400).”

“In one meta-analysis, Langlois et al. (2000) at Tartu University Library on September 27, 2010psp.sagepub.comDownloaded from reported that attractive individuals are more likely than unattractive individuals to be judged as competent in their professions (d = 0.96), to experience success in their…”

“Physical appearance has a strong influence on evaluations of and attraction to others (Langlois et al., 2000).”

“Attractiveness is a socially important facial feature (Langlois et al., 2000); judgments of facial attractiveness are fast, effortless, and consistent across subjects (Willis and Todorov, 2006).”

“We also examined how competence judgments correlate with four other attributes that have been shown to be important for the evaluation of faces: attractiveness (Langlois et al. 2000), facial maturity and apparent age (Keating et al.”

“One such premise is that ageism develops due to negative halo effects—that is, because older people are perceived as generally unattractive, they are also seen as having negative traits and abilities (Langlois et al., 2000).”

“Contrary to the notion that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” judgments of physical attractiveness, which are largely affective, exhibit a high degree of consensus both within and across cultures (Langlois et al., 2000).”

“They are perceived as more outgoing, socially competent and powerful, sexually responsive, intelligent, and healthy (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991; Feingold, 1992; Langlois et al., 2000; Zebrowitz, Hall, Murphy, & Rhodes, 2002; Zebrowitz & Rhodes, 2004).”

“Even babies and young children show preferences towards attractive people (Langlois et al., 1987; Langlois et al., 2000; Salvia, Sheare, & Algozzine, 1975).”

“Meta-analyses found a positive relationship between facial attractiveness and mental (Feingold, 1992; Langlois et al., 2000) and physical health (Langlois et al., 2000; but see Kalick, Zebrowitz, Langlois, & Johnson, 1998).”

“There is an extensive literature exploring the evolutionary and cultural basis for perceptions of attractiveness and their pervasive impact on human behavior (Cunningham, Roberts, Barbee, Druen, & Wu, 1995; Jones, 1995; Langlois et al., 1987; Langlois et al., 2000).”

“Certain traits, such as physical attractiveness, may be universally associated with high status (e.g., Langlois et al., 2000).”

“Adults and children within and across cultures agree in their judgments of facial attractiveness (Langlois et al., 2000), suggesting that universal principles of facial beauty exist.”

“) Consistent with the meta-analysis by Langlois et al. (2000) we find that subjects are in substantial agreement concerning their evaluations.”

“selection and voting behavior [12,14,15].”

“Langlois et al. (2000) in fact find that there is considerable agreement about who is and who is not attractive, both within and across cultures.”

“Indeed, a recent meta-analysis concluded that people in different cultures generally agree on who is attractive (Langlois et al. 2000).”

“They did not explain the nature of the physical attractiveness stereotype itself, and hence they took it and its content for granted (though evolutionary perspectives do speak to it; e.g., Langlois et al., 2000).”

“Past research demonstrates that physically attractive individuals are assumed to possess more socially desirable characteristics and are expected to lead better lives than their less attractive counterparts (Berscheid and Walster 1974; Langlois et al. 2000; Snyder, Tanke, and Berscheid 1977).”

“Control Variables As attractiveness affects judgments of appearance (Langlois et al., 2000), we asked another group of participants (n5 34; 18 female, 16 male) to use a 7-point scale to rate the faces on attractiveness.”

“Existing explanations of this phenomenon have focused on evolutionary theories and on how positive feelings for attractive people may contribute to behavioral confirmation or a self-fulfilling prophecy (e.g., Feingold, 1992; Langlois et al., 2000).”

“Finally, simply knowing what each other player has chosen can also have an impact.”

“The opposite-sex bias in sensitivity to facial symmetry is consistent with the findings of Little et al. (2001) who report such a bias when judging attractiveness. The opposite-sex bias was not reported by Rhodes, Zebrowitz, et al. (2001). This may reflect the employment of a different methodology to the present study…”

“Several evolutionary theories (see Buss, 1988; Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Langlois et al., 2000) also postulate that physical attractiveness is a more important attribute of women than of men.”

“…own physical attractiveness (Haselton and Gangestad, 2006), and they may choose to display their attributes through ornamentation that can result in any of a variety of attractiveness-related benefits, including esteem in the eyes of peers and increased attention from men (Langlois et al., 2000).”

“…menstrual cycle; ovulation; clothing; female sexuality; sociosexuality How we look affects who hires us and how quicklywe get promoted, who we attract as mates and friends, and how we are evaluated through the routine social judgments people make of us in our daily lives (Langlois et al., 2000).”

“…research in social psychology about the effects of facial appearance on social outcomes (e.g., Blair et al. 2004; Eberhardt et al. 2006; Hamermesh & Biddle 1994; Hassin & Trope 2000; Little et al. 2007; Langlois et al. 2000; Montepare & Zebrowitz 1998; Mueller & Mazur 1996; Zebrowitz 1999).”

“We retrieved studies cited in major reviews of health–attractiveness claims that we identified (Grammer et al., 2003; Langlois et al., 2000; Miller & Todd, 1998; Thornhill & Gangestad, 1996, 1999; Thornhill & Moller, 1997).”

“, Alicke, Smith, & Klotz, 1986; Furnham, Lavancy, & McClelland, 2001), and physical attractiveness matters: Physically attractive children and adults of both sexes are more favorably judged and treated by others than are their less attractive peers (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991; Feingold, 1992; Langlois et…”

“longevity (Gottfredson & Deary, 2004), body symmetry (Banks, Batchelor, & McDaniel, 2010), physical attractiveness (Langlois et al., 2000) and semen quality (Arden, Gottfredson, Miller, & Pierce, 2008).”

“…that attractiveness may influence people’s social and intellectual environments, which in turn may influence their intelligence (see Harris & Rosenthal, 1985; Langlois et al., 2000; Zebrowitz, 1997, for theory and literature reviews pertinent to self-fulfilling prophecy effects of attractiveness).”

“…sexual behavior in other species, it is evident that physical attractiveness is a contributing factor to mate choice in humans (see Buss, 1989, and Langlois et al., 2000, for an assessment of the importance of various factors in mate choice and a meta-analytic review of facial attractiveness…”

“Recent studies, reviews, and meta–analyses (see Eagly et al., 1991; Langlois et al., 2000) have clarified our understanding of attractiveness stereotyping and its consequences but have also revealed that we do not yet have an answer to the question: Is attractiveness “good,” as implied by the…”

“Problematically, men (and women) universally seem to agree on standards of female facial beauty, making it hard to choose between the two accounts (Langlois et al., 2000).”

“For example, children exhibit racial, gender, and attractiveness biases in their trait attributions and peer preferences by the age of three or four (Aboud, 1988; Levy & Carter, 1989; Langlois et al., 2000; Ruble & Martin, 1998; Sanders & Lee, 2005; Williams, Best, & Boswell, 1975).”

“Therefore, far from being an entirely low-level variable, physical attractiveness creates differential responses in other people even at very complex emotional and cognitive levels (Langlois et al., 2000).”

“These two dimensions were added to test whether increased familiarity might be part of a halo effect that makes people rate attractive others higher on a number of desirable personality characteristics (Langlois et al., 2000; see also Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani , & Longo, 1991).”

“Physical attractiveness is one of the most powerful demographic variables known to science (Langlois et al., 2000), and it is substantially genetic (Gangestad & Scheyd, 2005).”

“…attractiveness is conflated with sexuality (APA, Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, 2007), and since the belief that what is attractive is good is prevalent in our society (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972; Langlois et al., 2000), it is logical that being viewed as sexy may indeed feel good.”

“Dion, 2002; Langlois, et al., 2000; Zebrowitz, Montepare, & Lee, 1993).”

“Physical attractiveness is not arbitrary; attractive people have better health outcomes and better fertility outcomes, making them better potential mates (Langlois et al., 2000).”

“While gender differences findings are quite robust in the obesity literature, the meta-analyses of Langlois et al. (2000) and Hosoda, Stone-Romero, and Coats (2003) find no gender differences in the beauty premium for labor-related outcomes.”

“Importantly, and as many other researchers have noted, even subtle changes in face preferences may have consequences for a diverse range of social outcomes (Perrett et al. 1998; Penton-Voak et al. 1999; Langlois et al. 2000; Rhodes et al. 2003).”

“This attractiveness halo effect reflects a physical-attractiveness stereotype, according to which attractive individuals are expected to be more sociable, friendly, warm, competent, and intelligent than less attractive individuals (for reviews, see Feingold, 1992; Langlois et al., 2000).”

“There is some evidence for accuracy in impressions of attractive individuals as more popular, intelligent, and dominant (Langlois et al., 2000; Zebrowitz, Hall, Murphy, & Rhodes, 2002; but see Feingold, 1992, for lack of evidence).”

“Although it is well established that face preferences influence many different social outcomes (e.g., partner and associate choices, hiring decisions, and voting behavior, see Langlois et al., 2000 ), most studies of face preferences have focused on identifying facial characteristics that are generally attractive (i.e…”

“This effect, dubbed the ‘‘what is beautiful is good’’ bias, holds that physically attractive persons are assumed to hold many other positive attributes (e.g. kindness, intelligence) (Langlois et al. 2000).”

“The social psychology literature suggests that this is the case: many studies show an extremely high degree of agreement across cultures, ages and genders on whom is beautiful (Langlois et al. (2000)).”

“the assumption that attractive individuals have better personalities and higher moral standards (Dion et al., 1972; Eagly et al., 1991; Langlois et al., 2000).”

“…to look at faces over nonfaces and form face preferences on the basis of attractiveness, gender, and race (Bar-Haim, Ziv, Lamy, & Hodes, 2006; Langlois et al., 2000; Quinn, Yahr, Kuhn, Corresponding Author: Mahzarin R. Banaji, 1520 William James Hall, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138…”

“Some have argued that people desire to affiliate with attractive people because they see attractive people as interpersonally virtuous (e.g., Snyder et al., 1977; see Langlois et al., 2000, for a review).”

“…perception has established the existence of the “what is beautiful is good” stereotype, such that attractive individuals are evaluated as more intelligent, socially skilled, ethical, and occupationally competent (Dion, Berscheid, and Walster 1972; Eagly et al. 1991; Langlois et al. 2000).”